There has been much recent focus on the failings of a handful of local authorities and whether or not more regulation will address performance weaknesses. However, there has been much less attention paid to the inadequacies of Whitehall and considering there could be a new set of very inexperienced ministers in 18 months, such scrutiny is long overdue.

So how about this for starters: Whitehall has ‘a bias for policy and ministerial handling skills over corporate and organisational capabilities, departmental fiefdoms, leadership cadre with limited external experience and a status quo bias, limited exposure at all levels to alternative organisational models and ways of working, insufficient investment in change management and poor communication of the tangible value of reform'.